curfew order. all u.s. forces in japan face an unprecedented nighttime restriction after two navy sailors are accused of raping a woman in okinawa. welcome to nhk world "newsline." american military personnel in japan will be watching the clock for the foreseeable future. their commanders imposed a temporary curfew following a case of rape in okinawa involving two u.s. servicemen. the order applies to all of the nearly 40,000 american military

personnel stationed across the country. nhk world reports. report. >> reporter: the commander of u.s. forces in japan made the announcement in tokyo. >> under u.s. paycom commander authority i am immediately issuing a curfew to all military personnel in japan both temporary and assigned. >> lieutenant general salvatore angelella says the curfew will be in place from 11:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. it will apply to all u.s. forces in japan, including those who come here for a short time. the decision follows the arrests earlier this week of two u.s. navy sailors. they are accused of raping a woman in okinawa. the pair is being held at the japanese prosecutor's office in the capital. >> i want to personally

apologize for the grief and trauma the victim has endured and the anger it has caused among the people in okinawa. >> reporter: american servicemen have been involved in more than 120 sexual assault cases in okinawa since 1972 when the u.s. government returned the island chain back to japanese control. it was an incident in 1995 that most shocked and enraged people in okinawa. three u.s. marines raped a 12-year-old girl. the case prompt mass demonstrations. and it brought the u.s./japan security treaty close to the breaking point. the governor of okinawa at the time said a temporary curfew doesn't go far enough. >> translator: for the time being it may be effective, but for the long-term it's not a

good solution. i'm afraid. so this is a time to pay attention to the base program. >> reporter: he is calling for a full review of the code of conduct for u.s. forces in japan. any chances will be noticed more in okinawa. more than 707% of american military facilities are located there. many people in okinawa consider that a burden. and when cases like this arise, that burden feels unbearable. nhk world, tokyo. >> politicians in okinawa have long had an uneasy relationship with u.s. forces. this rape case has mobilized members of the okinawa city council. they've adopted a resolution demanding the japanese and u.s. governments take measures to prevent a similar incident from happening again.

>> translator: okinawa seems like a lawless area, still occupied by the u.s. army. the anger and distrust of okinawans is at an all-time high. >> the document will be delivered to the japanese government and the u.s. military early next week. other town assemblies are expected to follow suit. in a separate move, okinawa governor hirokazu nakaima announced he will visit the united states sunday. he's aiming to meet with senior government officials to convey the anger of the okinawan people. a joint chinese navy and air force fleet has conducted an exercise near a disputed group of islands in the east china sea. japan nationalized the senkaku islands last month. china and taiwan claim them as their own. 11 ships and eight aircraft from the navy, fishery administration, and marine surveillance agency took part in the exercise. the drill was based on the scenario that the crew of the patrol boat had fallen overboard and were injured during a

skirmish with a foreign vessel. china's state run television station broadcast the exercise live. china's national radio says chinese patrol boats have been harassed by foreign ships around the disputed islands. it says the exercise was named at protecting china's territorial sovereignty and maritime interest through strengthening ties between the navy and other agencies. european leaders have seen banks there crumble one after another. they've agreed at a summit in brussels to create a single supervisor in countries that use the euro. the leaders of the 27-nation european union agreed to phase in a banking union during the course of next year to achieve that they want to complete a legislative frame work by the end of this year. a supervisor would oversee

commercial banks across the eurozone. >> our main priority was progress on the banking union. we also sought to clarify new concepts and to test the degree of support for various ideas in view of reaching conclusions in december. >> the leaders hope an integrated system will break a cycle of poor bank management and national budget problems. they also got an update on leaders on the greek budget. they would implement wage cuts in return for 31 billion euros in aid but the leaders didn't reach a decision on whether to go ahead with the next round of help. china's commerce ministry said investments were at 8.43 billion last month down 6.8% from a year earlier. many overseas company refrain

from investing in china because of the impact of europe's debt crisis. the european union showed a 6.3% drop and united states 0.6% decline. bucking the trend, investment from japan climbed 17%. that's just about the same level as in the previous month. some people think japan's investment is likely to shrink this month. a ministry spokesman indicates the strained bilateral relations over a territorial dispute could lead to a drop in japanese investment. the japanese electronics maker, sony, posted losses for four straight years and earlier announced plans to cut 10,000 jobs in japan and overseas. as part of those plans, sony said on friday that it will let 2,000 full-time workers in the country go by the end of this year under an early retirement program. the company will also close a plant at the end of next march.

this factory employs. sharp plans to ask workers in japan to take an early retirement. japanese computer makers are rolling out new pc models in time for the release of microsoft's new software windows 8 next week. they plan to sell a new model next friday when windows 8 makes its debut. the pc can be used in tablet form. also an announcement to use a new pc series loaded with the new microsoft operated system. company officials say these pcs with touch panel functions are easy to use and light in weight. the lightest notebook weighs

only 875 grams. other makers like sony, panasonic and toshiba plan to come up with new models hoping to cash in on the release of windows 8. here are the latest market figures. how to balance economic growth with environmental protection. conservation experts have been trying to answer that question.

>> reporter: the u.n. sponsored meeting wrapped up on friday. the 11th conference of the parties to the u.n. convention on biological diversity is otherwise known as cop 11. delegates agreed to set aside 17% of the world's land area for protection. many challenges remain but conservation vere atioation eff progress. >> in india's northeast state one of the many rare species that call this place their home. the mountains of sikkim are not only a beautiful landscape, they are a natural habitat. when it rains, the slopes are prone to landslides. much vegetation is lost due to landslides and human activities like collecting grass and wood

to feed animals or to burn for fuel. the forests are degraded, ecosystems and inhabitants destroyed. a project to conserve started two years ago. japan offered more than $60 million assistance. this man crisscrosses the area on foot researching distribution. there are very few specialists. >> looking into different areas in different parts of the country. we get to learn many things from him. >> it is also important that the next generation, the youngsters, they learn techniques for

measuring the city because the next generation has to take care and we have to pass it onto them. >> reporter: cooperation of local people is important. at this village residents have planted walnut trees and other saplingings. villagers take care of them weeding the grass. forest officials explain the importance of conservation and villagers can use the budget from the project toward repair ing and gain favor with their community. >> if you have a project coming up in a particular village, they'll get an assurance, okay, the project has come. it's for the benefit of the village. so in that respect, more people, more villages coming to join us. >> reporter: training local

people to conserve requires long-term financial support. developing nations are calling on advanced economies to allocate more money to the important cause of preserving global heritage. teenage pregnancy rates in many countries are higher than the asian average and rising. that's a concern given the potential health implications for young mothers. international organizations such as unicef warn that pregnancy can harm a young girl's body and limit her opportunities for education. this graph shows the birth rate for 1,000 girls in asian ten member nations. they're much higher in countries such as japan and south korea. in thailand the number of teenage girls choosing to terminate a pregnancy is rising. even though the procedure is normally illegal. health experts say sex education programs could help reverse the trend.

but they face strong opposition from traditional groups. nhk world's noriko nakamura reports from bangkok. >> reporter: teenage girls receive advice at the clinic in bangkok. about the challenges of motherhood. the clinic says the number of pregnant teens have jumped in recent years. it has launched a new pilot project devoted to their physical and mental care. this 16-year-old girl is four months pregnant. her boyfriend used a condom but it didn't do its job. >> translator: i felt worried when i found out i was pregnant. >> translator: there should be videos and lessons at school about how to use a condom properly. >> reporter: the thai government

says out of every 1,000 teenage girls age 15 to 19, almost 55 gave birth in 2011. two years ago, a temple in bangkok found the remains of more than 2,000 infants. they were dumped by a clinic that performs illegal abortions. police say the clinic had been terminating pregnancies of teenage girls for years. one expert estimates as many as 400,000 illegal abortions take place in thailand each year. often for teenagers. one reason behind the alarming trend is that schools in thailand are restricted from teaching about sex education. their heritage makes it taboo. >> translator: bringing advanced sex education into schools is a sensitive issue.

even though we see a need for it, we have to be very careful. we have to take care of the feelings of parents, students, and also teachers. >> reporter: doctors and nurses are standing up to cultural change. this hospital offers young women advanced sex education, such as how to use contraceptives. >> translator: we want teenagers to improve their knowledge from sex education, and know who they can come and talk with if they have a problem. if they know the dangers, they'll take better care of themselves. >> reporter: hospital officials try to encourage local schools to follow suit.

but, parents are divided. >> translator: we should arm young people with an ability to analyze, and then they'll be able to tell right from wrong. >> translator: if we teach them in class, they might be curious about it, and want to try having sex. and that might cause problems later on. >> reporter: with the rapid spread of the internet, educational experts in thailand say more teens have access to unreliable information about sex online. education seems to be the last line of defense for the potential burden of an unwanted pregnancy. nhk world, bangkok. and that wraps up our bulletin for today.

the u.n. general assembly has elected five countries. the country pledges to step up efforts of peace on the caribbean peninsula and beyond. >> the following five states for a term beginning january 1st, 2012 2013. >> the five new member countries will replace those whose terms expire at the end of this year. south korea beat cambodia by a wide margin in the second round of bat lloting. the first term came in 1996. >

> > last year's accident at the fukushima daiichi nuclear plant revealed serious flaws in the country's ability to prevent and respond to nuclear disasters. japan's nuclear regulation authority was created last month to overhaul the country's nuclear safety rules. it's already facing major challenges. the nra drew up new guidelines concerning the size of evacuation zones around nuclear plants. the radius of such zones was expanded from 10 to 30 kilometers. that means that municipalities such as kashiwazaki city could fall entirely within an evacuation zone. these municipalities within a 30 kilometer radius of nuclear plants must now draw up new plans to respond to nuclear disasters, but the nra has yet to present criteria for evacuation or information on what kind of support the national government will provide. the municipalities say they're confused and frustrated.

>> reporter: this is niigata prefecture. the entire city lies within 30 kilometer of the nuclear power plant. that means none of its 27 evacuation centers would be useable in the event of a nuclear accident. >> translator: the centers will be useless under the 30 kilometer rule. >> reporter: under the new guidelines the city has evacuation areas outside of the city for all 90,000 of its residents. other problems have surfaced. the city needs to map out evacuation routes and make detailed plans to relocate the city office and protect civilians from radiation. however, the nra has not provided criteria for evacuation or for measures to prevent radiation exposure.

iodine tablets remain on the shelves in schools and at the city office. the pills can cause serious side effects. so they have to be distributed and administered with care. but the nra has yet to provide instructions on how to use them. >> translator: we want to know when to evacuate people, but the criteria for this and other measures are still unclear. the national government appears undecided. >> reporter: some local governments say they want the nra to offer support in addition to drawing up safety guidelines. shimane prefecture in western japan also hosts a nuclear plant. about 30,000 people living within the 30-kilometer zone are being cared for in nursing facilities and hospitals. representatives of such facilities have gotten together

to discuss evacuation methods. the prefecture says the national government must help them find evacuation areas outside the prefecture as well as transportation and personnel. >> translator: we hope the central government will continue to respond to our requests. we'll need places to evacuate, materials, machinery and human resources. >> reporter: the nra says it will try to quickly develop a clear set of guidelines in response to these pressing requests. >> translator: we hope to present information needed to draw up municipal emergency plans by the end of the year. we know we must provide the guidelines as quickly as possible. 135 japanese municipalities

lie within 30 kilometers of nuclear power plants. they have until march next year to draw up new nuclear disaster response plans. they're counting on japan's newest agency to guide them on the path to improved nuclear safety. for an update on the weather forecast, here's mai shoji. >> skiers hoping to snow on natural snowflakes will have to wait until mid december. let's pull back and show you the wintry pattern has been found here. it's crawling over toward the region even in urban areas bringing precipitation which is snow in the higher elevations.

additional amount of about five centimeters will be seen in the next 24 hours across northern japan and on your saturday, severe weather on the rise. that includes gusts, lightning strikes, and also some hail. but otherwise meanwhile here across much of japan for the rest of this country as well as t the korean peninsula, we'll have a beautiful autumn weekend ahead of us. a very nice weekend to do our laundry and also to take our dogs out for a walk in the park and enjoy the foliage as well. temperatures are very nice shaping up like this. 30s in the tropics. 25 in shanghai. beijing, 22, you'll see a dip in that temperature into your sunday about mid teens. same story here in seoul. tokyo, 21 for our saturday.

here across the americas we have several injuries reported from the very severe storm system that's finally going to be moving offshore. still, remaining here in new england for the next 24 hours especially in new york city. we may see some travel delays due to downpours and gusty conditions. gusts and rain will taper off across much of the great lakes region. however, the pacific storm will move in toward vancouver, the british columbia region and the state of washington and those gusts could reach up to about 60 kilometers per hour and cascades and northern rockies may see precipitations with two inches of snow in higher elevations. looking at clear jet stream here. oklahoma city on the warmer side. 22 degrees. los angeles staying in the 20s as well. houston, a little bit warmer there at 29. staying above average here

across the eastern seaboard. in europe, still in the northern regions, the scandinavian peninsula, and european peninsula looking at unsettled and cool weather. very sunny and warm across much of central portions. vienna, 17. berlin, 20. rome looking at 27 degrees. however, the unstable conditions will be prevailing across the peninsula. any additional precipitation could trigger flooding and mud slides and frequent lightning, hail and gusts are a possibility and temperatures are cooling down due to the cold front passing through the region. here's our extended forecast.

>> we'll be back with more

updates in 30 minutes. from all of us here at nhk world, thanks very much for joining us.